Veteran's Affairs Plus W/ David L. Washington

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what's going on good

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day Las

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Vegas. This is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I have three of my grandsons in studio today, but we'll be having a conversation shortly. However, prior to that, I want to make a few announcements and statements. One, I want to extend condolences to the Sandra Massey of Chicago, who was recently shot in her home by a police officer. So you know what I really want. And again, I always like to say this is not a political show, and they've already said through Jason disclaimers of the university, in regards to us talk show hosts who make statements, certain statements, and my statement again today, not a political show. However, I did see two officers, one black, one white, speak out against this injustice to this young lady. So I'm hoping and urging others, because I know we have a multitude of people, veterans and others who listen to this, show those police officers out there, please speak out against this matter. And of course, the man has a right to go through the justice system, but we must speak out when we see wrong with that. I want to go further and say that in a week or two, I plan to have Reverend Johnson from Mount Bayou Museum, a small community in Mississippi that I will have on the show, just kind of encourage people and talk about that museum, which I had an opportunity to attend last weekend through a Good friend of mine, Johnny Griffin, was able to drive me because I had been driving quite a bit over that three day period while I was down in my family reunion. So again, we will have him on in fact, Reverend Johnson and that whole Mount Bayou group there at the Smithsonian, they're getting an award for the work that they've done. So with that, I have three young men sitting before me in studio, and I'm going to start out with the oldest of the bunch. KJ. KJ, tell us who your folks are. Give us a little bit of background on you.

Unknown Speaker 2:55
So my name is KJ, and 18 years old. I just turned 18. I play basketball. So I'm like, I do sports. I love sports, and I love watching sports as well, and I went to Arbor View High School and helping to go to college in Kansas City. Great.

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Well, we'll come back to that. So who are your parents?

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Angel Washington and Kelly Herndon.

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Okay, cool. All right. Next young man over here, another grandson, kaisen.

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My name is Kaiser. I'm 13 years old. I play basketball. I also like watching basketball and football. And my parents are Kelly Herndon and Angel Washington.

Unknown Speaker 3:39
So you was one of the ones talking about some goat before we went on air. Yeah, LeBron the goat. Okay, all right, all right, coming over to my other grandson, uh,

Unknown Speaker 3:50
yeah. My name is Kyran Armageddon. I'm 12 years old. I play basketball. I like watching basketball. And my parents are Nathan Armageddon and Amber Armageddon. Cool,

Unknown Speaker 4:04
cool. So, KJ, you mentioned that you are a baller and you plan to, you plan to go out of state for college. So where are you headed?

Unknown Speaker 4:16
I'm going to Metropolitan College, Kansas, in Penn Valley, so like in the middle of the city to play basketball for the college. Okay,

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so when is the plan move?

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I'm going down there. I'm moving down there either the 12th, 13th or the 14th. So I'm going to be doing going down there in like two weeks,

Unknown Speaker 4:42
about two weeks, so that's in August. All right. Well, that's That's great to hear, and I trust that you will do. Well, what do you think about in terms of student athlete? Just give your definition and what you feel about that in particular,

Unknown Speaker 4:56
student athlete, student comes first before the athlete part. So. Know, you just got to get your work done. You know, me, personally, I never really liked school, but I just know, like I had to get it done to be able to do what I want to do. So, you know, it's just about, really, just responsibility and to be able to get things done and make sure like and for you to be trusted by, like the coaches and all the other people, just to get to where you want to be. So I feel like student athletes just, you know, get your work done and just and then you can do what you want to do.

Unknown Speaker 5:33
So you mentioned the student athlete. What kind of grades did you have in high school?

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I had a 2.8 GPA. Okay, so you

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can grow that, I hope while you're down in college. Yeah, cool. So a little bit more about your background in terms of the position that you play. In particular, what is your favorite position? I should ask

Unknown Speaker 6:02
I play shooting guard for the most part, because most of the time I'm more of like, you know, because I'm in high school so, or I just graduated high school, so I was more like one of the tall on the taller side. But now, knowing me going to college, I'm gonna have to play like point guard and shooting guard, mostly probably point guard because of my size. Okay,

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what was your favorite subject in school?

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My favorite subject for the most part, it was most mostly math. But then it kind of died down, because I just really just didn't like school. So no, so it is math for the most part. Okay,

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all right, all right, let's swing over to you kaisen, so what's your thought on the term student athlete?

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Yeah, you got to have your grades right before you, like, become an athlete, and like the coaches, make sure. Want to make sure you have better grades than before they see how you play.

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So what happens if you have poor grades,

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they won't offer you a scholarship. Okay,

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so what about just in AAU and the school teams? Because you play both right in what position do you play?

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I play like small fork, small shooting guard, a little bit.

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Okay, all right, so what is your favorite subject in school

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math?

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Why?

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Because, like, most of the time I get like, A's, B's, but like, yeah.

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Now one thing your mom had told us about some time ago that you was one of the Wiser ones, or smarter ones, if you will, in class, that You would help the student, not the student, but the teacher. Sometimes. Where did that come from?

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I don't know. I just like and

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what were you assisting the teacher on? What was a particular subject

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it was like, mostly math, because I just math is easy. All you got to do is pay attention to what the teacher is teaching, and then you just get it. Okay.

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All right, over to Mr. Karen. Karen, favorite subject in school. I

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don't really like any of my subjects, but history or science, because I had a really good teacher, but I mean, now he's teaching fifth grade now. So

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so your thought on student athletes,

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so like you got to have good grades or you're not going to be able to be on the team.

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Okay? So how many years have you been playing now?

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Like a year and a half maybe.

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So are you getting prepared to and who, who you working with right now in terms of your skill set,

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my grandpa's friend, Sam Smith. And

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do you give me something on Sam Smith that you're aware of?

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He really just likes to help, just push forward people, just to help them get better and stuff.

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So where do you go to school? You don't know any of that information about Sam.

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I go to wlca. No, I'm

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talking about Sam. Sam. Where do you go to school? Oh,

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he went to unlv and what

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do you do here? Do you go? I recall. You don't recall some stuff that Sam did?

Unknown Speaker 9:25
Oh yeah, he was like, in the NBA for two years, two seasons. That's all I really know about him. So

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what do you what do you think about his training? Overall, it's

Unknown Speaker 9:36
pretty good. He's helped me on my shooting and like spin moves. So yeah, okay, once

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again, Las Vegas, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I'm Dave Washington, your host. Sitting in studio with me today are my three grandsons. And of course, I mentioned to you guys several times, and Marcia and I have 12 grandchildren. So. Six boys and six girls, and we have been told that the ovens are closed, and you're hearing it from me, so pleased to have you guys in studio. So you guys mentioned in terms of your favorite athlete from the basketball side. Are there other sports that you have favorites in

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football?

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Who was a favorite?

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DK Metcalf,

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why in

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what position does he play? Wide receiver, and he just a dog for who? Seattle Seahawks?

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For the Seahawks. You know anybody else played for the Seahawks? My dad, when did he play? You don't remember? Back in the day, we could say all right, back to you. KJ, so what's the plan in terms of going away to college? What's what's on? What's on your mind, your thought in terms of what you got to do?

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Well, obviously, I'm going to be going out there by myself, and so I know I have to be aware of all my surroundings, and I have to make sure I get my work done. You know, have no distractions when I go out there. So I need to be able to focus. So I can be able to be able to play basketball, because I know how hard I worked throughout my life for basketball, so I don't need that to go to waste at all. So I know what I need to focus on when I go out there. It's great

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attitude. So favorite person in other sports besides basketball,

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my dad. My dad, okay, he's a he was a corner for Seattle Seahawks and the Broncos and the Titans. Okay,

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so Karen, other sports that you have some favorites in

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Lamar Jackson, quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. I like him because he's on my favorite team.

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So so it's the team that that you like, and you're pleased that he's there as a player. Okay, so tell us a little bit about his skill set. Got any numbers on it? No, have no stats on

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No. I could give you stats for NBA players, but not really football. We'll

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give you some stats on whomever you choose.

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I guess I could do LeBron. He's not my favorite.

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Wait a minute, you say he's not, he's the goat, but he's not your favorite.

Unknown Speaker 12:47
Yeah, he's like, LeBron is like, my top three and favorite players. Okay, get run to three. So first, Kawhi, Leonard, why? I just like play style and stuff, and he's like, funny. Second, LeBron, because he's LeBron, and third, I can really only name my top two. That's pretty much it.

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KJ, you got any any tops, as far as any sport for that matter.

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Well, for basketball, my my favorite player that was an NBA is Kyrie Kyrie Irving, and he's always been my favorite player because, not only just because of his skill set and you know, his craft, his craft and his like ability to do what he's able to do on the basketball court, but also, like his mindset, and he he's, like, he's smart, so he'd be, he'd be studying a lot, and he'd be posting, like, some stuff on, like Instagram and stuff like that that's just about, like, spiritual stuff. And I, and I mess with that, it's cool. Okay, so All

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right. Well, once again, this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. I'm going to turn for a second, and I'll be back to you guys think about some other things that you'd like to our listening audience to know about. You, personality wise, if you will, but something that's very important, and particularly kjtu, you just turned 18. I want to, once again incur and I'm not trying to tell anybody who to vote for, but we have got to vote. Not only vote, but just as important as voting is having a knowledge base about who the candidates are. And something I said last week is, oh politician, way back in the Dave Tip O'Neill, I think if I remember correctly, it was a congressman. He said, All politics are local. That means that we have local offices, from school board trustee to city council to county commission. All those seats are important. And then you get to your congress. Traditional area. KJ, question to you, my my older grandson, sitting at the table here at 91.5 jazz and more studios in the green spawn Hall of urban affairs, are you registered to vote? No. When are you going to get registered.

Unknown Speaker 15:23
Well, I have to get registered soon, knowing that, you know, it's all coming up soon, and I just turned 18, so I know I'm able to do so. So you know as much I know I don't really like politics, but I think it is important into the society that we have. So no

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doubt I think that, you know, I

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think I should have just registered to vote

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once again, it's important. And I'm saying this to our listening audience, who are varied in terms of who they are, black, white, male, female veterans and non veterans that get yourself educated about the candidates that you're going to cast your vote for. How important do you think that is? KJ,

Unknown Speaker 16:07
I think it is important, you know, because for the people that will be running, you know, our country, you know it is, it is important to know who you're gonna vote for and all that. So I think it is pretty important.

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Okay, what about you, kaisen, what do you think about the whole thing of voting in our society, in of itself?

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I don't really know.

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So how old are you now?

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13.

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Let me ask you. How important is it for reading? Y'all know that's something that I'm constantly on you guys about.

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I guess. I mean, it's important just to, like, understand what you're reading about.

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Why is it so important

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so you could comprehend everything?

Unknown Speaker 17:07
Yeah, reading comprehension is is something that's very important. As I told you guys a few weeks ago, I'm gonna start getting these some little bookshelves, because hopefully some of the books that I that I get you guys and that you select to read, that you are starting to read them if you haven't. So what's your thought on on voting and the need to learn about the candidates?

Unknown Speaker 17:29
It's important to vote because, like, what you vote for affects the country. So I mean, this year, I wouldn't really vote if I had the chance.

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You say you wouldn't.

Unknown Speaker 17:43
No why both of the candidates aren't really the best so like, and I don't even have that much knowledge about them, but I just know that they're not even not the best that you could vote

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for. That's interesting perspective from a 12 year old because, but at least you're aware, and we know that several years ago, your sister read for political office. Well in school, I think she became the president. I forget what last president last but you remember what grade she was in?

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It was something in that fifth,

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fifth grade, yeah. Did you play a role in the commercial that she did? Oh, yeah, I did. What did you do?

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I don't know if I can remember.

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I know you were there as a part of it, and she was very, very successful. And casara has some things in terms of her ability to kind of put things out in a way, because it was very, very creative what she did, and it caught the attention of obviously, the student body, because she won, and she won by a pretty good margin, as I recall, and I do recall you being a Part of that little skit that she did. So how does it make you feel about the whole idea of politics, even in school,

Unknown Speaker 19:10
I feel like, if they have that, it could, like, set some kids up to know, like, what happens when they get older? So, yeah,

Unknown Speaker 19:22
so right now, fellas, we have the Olympics going on over in Paris, so I want to you guys to share some thoughts about what you like about it. Don't like about it, any particular sport that you are cheering for in terms of gold medal or medals for the United States of America, starting with you, Tyson Team

Unknown Speaker 19:43
USA for basketball, yeah, they gonna get that gold medal. No team beating them. No team better than them. Why do you think so? Because LeBron is on there. And. Any awards,

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okay, Did y'all see the game today? Nah, okay. Was interesting, I should say, earlier in the week, this is a podcast being taped, and this is Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 jazz and more. And I want to ask my older grandson again, what's your thoughts in terms of, again, of the Olympics?

Unknown Speaker 20:26
Well, the Olympics so, you know, there's a lot of sports going on right now, and I know for sure, if I had to pick any sport that will for sure win the gold medal, is bas the basketball team and the track team as well. Because I know the track team, they are tough, and the basketball team is just, like, overpowered, but you know, they got a lot of guys on there that's just, you know, very talented. So

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what do you think about and there was some level of controversy about who didn't get picked, who got left off, and some guys with left or less or higher stats from a scoring standpoint, didn't make it, and there was others who had more of a defensive prowess about them. Share your thoughts with the listening audience.

Unknown Speaker 21:16
Well, about that, I mean, it's not that big of a deal, because, you know, people that are in the NBA, they all got a role, and if they make it, they make it. And some choose not to make not to play for the team. So, you know, I know, like my favorite player, Kyrie, he didn't play, and I heard like, different things on why he didn't play for them, like, because he he said no. And I had another hearing about like, you know, he just couldn't make it like, because of something that he posted a long time ago, and like that affected him and his career. So I don't really know about

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that. What are your thoughts? And then we'll come to you, Karen, what are your thoughts again in terms of, as they say, athletes should stay in their own lane and not get involved in politics or making comments or statements about what's going on in the world. What's your thought on that?

Unknown Speaker 22:13
Well, my thoughts on that is because, like, I don't, I don't think it's like, I think they should just stay in their own lane, because, you know, say one thing wrong. People gonna look at you different and, you know, and you just, just need to stay in your own lane, to be honest. I

Unknown Speaker 22:36
know so you will, you believe that they should stay in their own way? Yeah, because

Unknown Speaker 22:39
I know that's what I would do, because I know that that could bring a lot of drama into, you know, just putting, like, pressure on the athletes and all that politics stuff. I mean, it's not a bad thing to do. So like, you want to put your word out there, right? So I think, you know they they should, but I feel like it's just best I know what I would do, and that's just, just keep quiet interesting,

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God willing, in the creek don't rise, and I still have this show alive and kicking four or five years now, I certainly want to get your perspective again in regards to staying in your own lane versus making A statement as it needs to be done sometimes. Karen, how do you what do you think in terms of

Unknown Speaker 23:26
So, I got two things to say about the Olympic So first, I'm rooting for team USA basketball because, you know, LeBron is on there, but Joel Embiid needs to get off the team. He He didn't even play a single minute this game. I don't even know why he's playing. He, he should be playing for Cameroon or friend. He, he's metal chasing. You can't get a ring

Unknown Speaker 23:54
now, that's but hey, go ahead and laugh, fellas. I mean, this is, this is radio. They can't, they can't see you. But that's your position on that fella, that he's, that he's ring chasing, yep, but that's interesting perspective from a 12 year old, but I think some people may may agree with you in that regard. He's, he's chasing because he won't get a read, so he's chasing a medal. My, my, my, very, very interesting, gentlemen, we have a few more minutes. I just got a little point from from West Side producing director. So tell me, what are your thoughts about what's going on in the world today from your perspective, and what can we do to make the world a better place? Starting with youth Kaiser, I I

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don't even know, like,

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just just your honest thoughts about what's going on in the world.

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Stop protesting.

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Stop protesting.

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Yeah,

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why should we? Why should folks stop protesting? I. You don't know, have any thought. That's just a thought of yours that people shouldn't protest. Well, again, your granddad is a veteran of the United States Army. I was a draftee. I went in to serve my time. And when we go into the military, as well as serving any other positions as it relates to public safety, et cetera, soldiers, if they are true to what they get in terms of there's an oath that we take to talk about protecting the country, protecting people's rights. That's not a quote of the entire oath that you take, but generally around that basically saying that when we serve, we serve for people to have the right to protest. And I've said it many, many times on this show, you don't get the right to act a fool and take over buildings if you do. Like in my case, I got in trouble when I was in the military. I didn't whine, I didn't moan, I took my time, did my time, I should say, in the stockade. But I also asked, What can I do to make it right to ensure that I got an honorable discharge? And I did that so your grandfather has an honorable discharge from the United States Army. But had I just allowed that court martial to affect me to say, just let me out of here. They would have gave me a dishonorable discharge. Say, how do you see you later? So give me your thoughts. Karen, in that regard. UK,

Unknown Speaker 26:32
so people in the world need to stop being like, racist and stuff, and we need to start like, respecting one another. Like, like, example, like, there's, like, you know, an atheist and someone that's Christian and, like, the atheists, like, root to him or something. Like, we need to stop that and like, and it doesn't even matter, like, with religion, like, we just need to stop being like, hateful beings and stuff. Like, we need to be like, more peaceful to one another, because like, like in the world, there's like, so much stuff happening nowadays that if we just try to be like peaceful, for once, it'll just get better. Great.

Unknown Speaker 27:16
I'm a 12 year old. I agree. Peace, Love. Stop all the hating it, because we're all fellow human beings. Some thinks that they are better than others, but we're all in God's eye the same. His people. Go ahead. KJ,

Unknown Speaker 27:31
so what's going on in the world right now? Everybody is just against each other, and so for it to be better, obviously, you know, like, let's like, say, like social media. I, I do not like social media at all, because I can tell by the people that use social media and beyond it a lot, they try to compare themselves, and comparison is like the thief of happiness. So, you know, people compare themselves to others, and then they start hating on others, and then, oh, I want to be like them and all that type of stuff. And it's just, and it's just a bad thing to be, to be honest. So I feel like social media is one thing and for everybody just like, just to be respectful to another. But it's also about like how people have been raised, and where they come from, and people think they are better than other people, and that's just how the world is today. It's not we can really do about it at the moment, but we could try to make a change. So I feel like there's a lot of things that needs to be done for everybody to be peaceful and for it to make it better. So, all

Unknown Speaker 28:43
right, once again, this is Veterans Affairs plus 91.5 jazz and more. I had three of our six grandsons here in studio. We have kid you Herndon, kaisen. Herndon, Karen, Armageddon, and I am pleased to have had you guys on the show, and Wes is giving me that look over there, so we're about to wrap it up. So thank you guys, and hopefully we'll have you back on maybe next summer, because I thought it was important for you guys to come on this show learn how to speak and deal with radio. So love you all. Take care of yourselves. Veterans Affairs, plus on 91.5 Chaz and more. You

Outro Song 29:51
Dave, all the smoke in the air till they hate when they stare, all the pain that we bear, all you wear.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai